Buchanan purchases cleaner sweeper

Low-emission natural gas machine replaces old diesel.

Low-emission natural gas machine replaces old diesel.

January 30, 2008|STAN MADDUX Tribune Correspondent

BUCHANAN -- The city will join the ranks of alternative-fuel pioneers with a new street sweeper. The city commissioners Monday night approved the purchase of a street sweeper for $208,000 from Bell Equipment Co. of St. Joseph. The new sweeper will provide more suction than the existing 1991 model, which runs on diesel fuel. In addition, the new street sweeper will burn compressed natural gas, a much cheaper and cleaner-burning fuel, said Buchanan Assistant City Manager Joe VanderMeulen. He said the cost of natural gas is about one-third of the expense of diesel fuel, which runs well over $3 per gallon. The cost savings should allow the city to recover its cost about halfway through the life span of the sweeper, he said. "You can almost think of it as a pioneering project," said VanderMeulen, who revealed Buchanan will be among the first communities in Michigan to go to the sweeper burning an alternative fuel. VanderMeulen said he saw a recent demonstration of a natural gas-burning street sweeper in Decatur and came away impressed. The machines are more widely used in California because of greater concerns over vehicle emissions. "It's something that's becoming more and more popular," said Wayne Demchinski, a Bell Equipment sales representative. A state grant to reduce emissions will pay $169,000 of the cost. The city will cover the remaining expense, viewed by officials as a bargain considering a new diesel model runs about $150,000 and there are no grants for the machines burning traditional fuel. There have been complaints the existing sweeper, due to age, pushes the dirt around more than it vacuums up. "It's at a point of being embarrassing," said Commissioner Carla Cole. A fill station will be installed by tapping into the current natural gas lines at the Department of Public Works. VanderMeulen said the tank, equivalent to holding 54 gallons of diesel fuel, will take overnight to completely fill.